The present invention relates to an elastic bearing support for suitcase rollers or the like. Such a bearing support rotatably supports rollers or wheels at its bottom area and exhibits an upper portion connected to or connectable to a support frame of a suitcase or other container. By means of such a bearing support, one can mount rollers on a suitcase and can then roll the suitcase instead of having to carry the same.
Previous arrangemcnts of this kind have been contemplated where the rollers are supported at a mounting or bearing support part, which support part is in turn fastened to a belt or a strap which can be engaged around the suitcase. There have also been suitcases, especially of plastic, where two rollers are permanently built-in. Further, for substantially the same purposes, light collapsable material carriers have been contemplated which have longitudinal supports telescopically collapsable within one another.
German Pat. No. PS845839 discloses a traveling suitcase or trunk on rollers, wherein the rollers are resilently supported on supports which are pivotal into and out of pockets on the sidewalls of the suitcase.
French Pat. No. 1,487,437 discloses a bearing part for a suitcase roller which is made in the form of a spiral spring with one leg fastened to the suitcase floor and one or two suitcase rollers supported on another leg inclined diagonally toward the bottom.
The above-noted previously contemplated arrangements with resilient support of the rollers exhibit disadvantages in that they are too complicated, bulky, and expensive.
German No. PS806704 discloses a trayeling suitcase wherein the rollers are supported in pivotal bearing blocks. Although these bearing blocks can also have openings in their walls, they are themselves stiff and provide no effective resilient support for the rollers.
The invention is based upon the problem of providing a resilient shock absorbing bearing support or part for suitcase rollers and the like, which is especially simple and robust in form and is economically manufactured. This problem is solved according to the invention by forming the bearing support from a block of resilient material and by providing a substantially triangular shaped opening in the resilient material, whereby the shock forces caused by relative movement between the rollers and the suitcase frame supported thereon are resiliently absorbed in a predetermined desirable manner by compression of the resilient material, as well as by bending or flexing of at least one sidewall of the triangular opening.
In especially preferred embodiments the triangular opening is dimensioned and oriented so that the shortest triangular side at the rear side of the bearing support when in an in use position at a bottom corner of a suitcase with the diagonally opposite suitcase corner being pulled via a pulling handle connected thereto. Preferably the other two sides of the triangular opening converge at the apex of the opening in an arrow-like manner, pointing in the travel direction of the support rollers.
The bearing part is formed out of a rubber elastic material and is so formed that the desired elasticity and shock absorbing characteristics are obtained. Instead of using a special separate spring, which would make the bearing part complicated and expensive, the invention provides that the bearing part for the support or the feet is itself resilient/elastic.
The bearing support extends diagonally upwardly at a bottom corner of the suitcase being supported and has the substantially triangular opening extending laterally, at a position located diagonally and above the roller axles. The triangular opening is so oriented that the one side substantially parallel to the rear upward side of the resilient support exhibits a relative thin wall which is slightly curved outwardly and rearwardly. With this arrangement loads on the bearing support cause this thin wall to resiliently deflect and form a small arched wall part. The two other triangular sides extend in the travel direction approximately as an arrow point. The vertex of the triangular opening is located at the tip of this arrow shape in the area of the forward and lower side of the bearing part, oppositely of the arched upward and rearward thin wall part. The bearing part forward side is shorter than its curyed rearward upwardly extending side forming the thin wall part.
The thin wall part which is arched toward the rear and upwardly can elastically deflect and absorb shocks with a wide range of bending movement of the arched thin wall part. The other two triangular sides effectively pivot about the apex during the flexing movement of the thin wall part. With this elastic pivoting movement, the described forward lower region of the bearing part serves as a joint or articulation part.
Advantageously the two sides of the triangular opening which extend in the travel direction are arched convexly toward the center of the triangle so that they roll upon one another during the pivotal movements. In this manner they shorten the effective sides of the triangle during the elastic movement so that the support area becomes larger and the further elastic absorption is accomplished by an increasing resistance and the stability and the spring strength is simultaneously increased in conjunction with the corresponding increasing shock forces experienced at the rollers. With this arrangement there is thus simultaneously an oyerload prevention because of increased resistance to higher shock forces. The small, but frequent shocks and shaking,are elastically absorbed in a smooth manner, but also the strong shocks are correspondingly dampened by the advantageous spring path provided by this arrangement.
It is also noted that such an elastic bearing part or support embodiments are contemplated to be used on other containers than for suitcases.
Another preferred embodiment contemplates use of such bearing supports at the bottom side of a backsack or rucksack, at a support frame. Also small transport carts or wagons can be provided with such elastic bearing parts for the wheels.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.